The album sustains a vibe that’s melancholic without sacrificing hooks, but its minimalism undercuts the singer’s strengths.
The album is a landmark provocation that dares the country music establishment to look itself in the eye.
The album draws a clear line between the singer’s pop breakthrough and her current world-conquering form.
The singer-songwriter’s growth as an artist helps elevate her formative work.
With Red (Taylor’s Version), Swift displays a surprising willingness to kill, or at least revise, her darlings.
The maturity and control of the singer’s voice re-contexualizes the songs from the original album.
The album finds the singer digging further into her explorations of narrative voice and shifting points of view.
The album anticipates questions surrounding the singer’s genre bona fides and leans into each contradiction.
The band’s first album in 14 years is steeped in personal and political rage.
Dagger Beach manages to be a personal album that doesn’t rely strictly on autobiography for its emotional or thematic heft.
There’s something almost timid about erstwhile Dixie Chicks frontwoman Natalie Maines’s solo debut, Mother.
Monroe knows that there’s a story behind every scar, and Like a Rose proves her to be a skilled, versatile storyteller.
King Animal doesn’t contain any standout tracks that justify Soundgarden’s comeback.
The World from the Side of the Moon often plays like Mumford & Sons’ Babel with training wheels.
There are a few transitions between older and more recent material that draw attention to how her vocals have developed over her career.
The best tracks on ¡Dos! embrace a hedonistic spirit.
Take the Crown might stand as a stronger “comeback” statement if more of its tracks came across as a bit less desperate to be loved.
Half-Made Man is an album about empowerment and growth, so it’s only fitting that it finds Sollee creating career-best music.
Over the course of Sing the Delta, DeMent confesses, wails, and testifies.
LaVette elevates even the weaker cuts on Thoughtful N’ Thankful.